Two large ducts carry some of the
water from this river to a generating plant near base of fall. When the
river is near flood stage most of the water goes over the fall and the energy is
dissipated. Some estimate that the United States is only exploiting a
fraction of its potential hydro-electric Continue Center Column

Elimination of the burning of Diesel and Propane for
heating could result as part expanded Natural Gas Network.

Mr. Pickens and some natural gas suppliers have
suggested that utilities stop burning natural gas and substitute green solar and
wind power for electricity production. The gas could then be
compressed and used to fuel trucks and cars. Thank God someone with
capital is developing a serious green energy policy.

Natural gas vehicles will require an expanded
nationwide gas distribution system. The US already has an extensive natural gas
pipeline. One of my first memories from my childhood in New York City was
that we got gas for our refrigerator and stove from a Texas pipeline. We used
coal for hot water and heat. My point is that the technology to ship gas
long distances existed over sixty years ago. So expanding the current
pipeline grid to reach every corner of the country, so that their are no dead
zones where natural gas powered vehicles will find themselves without gas, is
possible. However, the expansion of gas pipelines will be a major national
project.

I feel that the this expansion should should
include service to those who are presently using diesel or propane to heat their
homes. This would free up diesel and propane for use by vehicles that
already exist. Many gas stations already provide propane service.

to heat tall buildings and to
drive machinery in manufacturing plants. Edison electrified down
town Manhattan in the fall of 1882, with power from the Pearl Street
station. The large dynamos of the Pearl Street station were powered by steam
from its coal fired boilers. At that period steam engines exhausted their
spent steam directly into the atmosphere generating waste heat at over 100
degrees centigrade. See
reference article, Click here!All
the elements for cogeneration were available at that time. There were
blocks of building and factories that were supplied with steam from central
plants, and there were many homes close by that were burning coal in their cellars to
produce low pressure steam to heat rooms. Then, coal was cheap, and
no one worried to much about pollution. There was no impetus to invest
capital on cogeneration.

Today we are concerned about the cost of
electricity for power and the cost of oil for heat. However, we no longer
have steam distribution networks in our cities. The cost of
power plants that outputted both electricity and heat would be
considerable. The cost of networks of insulated pipes for low pressure
steam or hot water distribution would be immense today as would be cost of
getting a permit to construct a smoke stake in the center of any city in
the USA. In many parts of World central heating plants are in use today,
these cities are in an excellent position to take advantage of centralized
cogeneration systems.

However, an inverse technology is taking hold
even in the USA.. Rather than produce power and sell the heat. Many
facilities are producing heat and hot water and selling the electricity back to
the electric utilities. One method is to use gas turbines to generate
electricity and than heat water or air with the turbine
exhaust. Excess electricity is sold back to the electric company via the
existing power lines. Utilities that sell both gas and electricity
are promoting this technology.

However most of the electricity in the USA is
produced using coal fired boilers, and the waste heat is dumped into our rivers.
This heat is generally considered environmental pollution.

Cogeneration and heat transport using steam for a
distance of over six miles was practiced in Germany in 1937. Click
hearfor details. Today we could probably design pipe lines that operate
at less than one atmosphere. Thus, low exhaust head pressure could be
provided for steam turbines at a power plants and this steam travel many miles
to condensers in city centers. In the city centers the condenser heat
could be used to heat water for central heating systems. Low pressure
lines would have to be almost completely devoid of curves and be well
insulated. They would be an expensive option, but should be included in
the energy matrix.

I am beginning this e-zine with a list of alternative
energy technologies. These will create the vertical axis of the matrix. It
will be become apparent that most of these technologies can be combined to form
various energy systems. For example solar energy could be combined with heat
storage technology, or it could be combined with battery technology. Thus must
technologies must also be listed on a horizontal axis if all possible energy
systems are
to be included in the array. The reason so many systems need to be defined
and eventually computer modeled is so that only the best can be selected.
Eventually our energy department will have to calculate the best approach to
deal with our future energy needs.

In the future we will consider questions such as "Is corn a
better solar collector than silicon?"

Nuclear Energy and HVDC

The safety of nuclear energy is
hotly contested in the US. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission
will not effect nuclear plant safety. It could make worst case scenario
nuclear accidents economic impact less severe. HVDC Continue
Reading

Practical Electric Cars by 2010

By 2010,Japan will have electric cars with
50 mile range and capability of being recharged in 15 minutes. The cars
will use lithium battery packs that will last Continue
Reading

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